Rebirth: Splendid Marriage in the 80s

Chapter 504: Chapter 505: Clouds of Worry Enshroud

”I...” Yang Dazhi was really not good at lying, and when Chiang Qingshui confronted him, he stammered. After years of marriage, Chiang Qingshui knew him too well, and seeing him like this, she knew something was amiss. She immediately came over and twisted his ear forcefully.

”Spill it! Where have you been? Got to town and couldn’t move because you saw a pretty girl? Who ensnared your soul, making you forget to even buy sugar?”

Yang Dazhi quickly grabbed her hand, not daring to cry out in pain, and spoke in a conciliatory tone, ”No, no, there’s nothing wrong. I just, I just completely forgot.”

”What could you have possibly been doing to forget? My mother has said that after staying in the hospital for three days, she craves something sweet to counteract the bitterness in her mouth, and you forgot just that? Say it, where did you go!” Chiang Qingshui let go of his hand and demanded angrily.

Yang Dazhi lowered his head, ”I didn’t do anything, I just wandered around since I haven’t been to town in a while.”

”Yang Dazhi, every time you lie, you don’t dare look at me. Look at me and tell me, where have you been?” Chiang Qingshui kicked his shin.

Yang Dazhi said helplessly, ”I just ran into Second Aunt.”

”You met the Second Aunt?” Chiang Qingshui was taken aback.

But Ho Laidi had already started exclaiming, ”So you went to get money from Ge Liutao, huh? Ah, Dazhi, you’re really something! How much did you get from her? I’m telling you, if you didn’t get a hundred or two hundred, you have to keep asking them for more!”

He hadn’t even thought of asking for money, and when he advised them to hide away for a bit, Chiang Xiao had refused him.

Suddenly, Yang Dazhi felt a twinge of heartache for himself. Why did he feel like he was the bad guy here?

”Mom, I didn’t ask for money.” He said somberly, ”Second Uncle and the others are not having an easy time either. Didn’t you say they earn their money by finding mountain goods on Bai Gu Mountain? That’s hard-earned money; I couldn’t just take it...”

”Nonsense!” Ho Laidi’s face transformed in an instant, and she began scolding him furiously, ”Second Uncle is having a hard time, then why don’t you suggest they become our son-in-law? The one lying here sick is your old mother! If they’re not paying, are you going to pay?”

”Mom, you can’t say that. I, I do have a little...” Before Yang Dazhi could finish his sentence, Chiang Qingshui kicked his shin again, swallowing his half-spoken words. It was at this moment he remembered Chiang Qingshui had told him that they wouldn’t contribute a penny to Ho Laidi’s medical expenses. After all, she always favored boys over girls, with three sons of her own, why should they rely on a daughter they had married off to pay?

So, even though they had saved a hundred dollars, Chiang Qingshui strictly forbade him from telling or giving it out.

Ho Laidi looked at them suspiciously, ”Have what?”

Chiang Qingshui immediately said, ”Just a twenty or so dollars! But even then, Mom, what good would that do? You know, Dazhi and I don’t have much to fall back on. When I married into his family, they were so poor! It’s only these past few years, since I took over managing things, that we’ve been able to barely get by. Don’t worry though, Mom, now that I’m here, I’ll definitely go and ask Second Uncle for the money.”

”I’m afraid they might not give it,” Ho Laidi said, propping herself up on the bed. These past few days, she had visibly lost weight. Her husband had collapsed and was resting at home while she and Chiang Baohe were hospitalized. With no one to tend the fields, they couldn’t rely much on Song Xiyun. Baoguo had to go to work, shuttle between the hospital and home to bring them meals, and look after their father at home; he was stretched too thin.

Just thinking about all this made Ho Laidi feel choked up inside.